


As It Seems

by SmartBlackRose



Series: Midnight in the Garden [3]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M, Misunderstandings, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 09:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10964754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmartBlackRose/pseuds/SmartBlackRose
Summary: Reid is sure that Hotch will leave him. After all, what else is left after your lover pulls away from you?





	As It Seems

**Author's Note:**

> Based on As It Seems. No special order for those fics, part of the Midnight In The Garden series

Cause this life is as  
Fragile as a dream, and  
Nothing’s ever really  
As it seems...

 

 

"Aaron's weird", Spencer stated.

 

Alex looked up from her coffee at the admission and nodded.

 

"I know. Well, at least I know you've been acting differently, lately", she said.

"I think he might want to leave."

"I- he doesn't seem any different to me", Alex protested.

"He shuts down everytime I walk in the same room as him. We barely exchanged three words in two weeks."

"Have you talked to him about it?", Alex asked carefully.

"No. Of course not. What if it just rushes the decision?"

"Spencer, listen... if he plans on leaving you, he will, no matter what you say to him. And maybe it's better to just rip the band aid off, no?"

 

He thought on this, and decided to avoid doing it right after he came home because Jack was there. He waited until the boy was in bed and then got too frightened, so he isolated himself in the office. He sat there with a book he wouldn't read on his lap, pondering on everything that had happened in their relationship.

 

He couldn't understand. Why now, why this? They were doing good, beautiful, even and he felt like their relationship was so much of love and pleasure and nice things. Aaron had made him so complete, so happy. Why would he take all of that away?"

 

He wrapped his arms around his knees, sighing and closed his eyes.

 

He let himself be in love. He let himself imagine the future they would have had. The house they had been looking at. He imagined the life they could have in that house. Jack wanted a dog, they could have adopted one. Reid could have taken a teaching position, once they were both too old to run after serial killers and they would have lived happily.

 

"Spencer?", Aaron asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me", Spencer said, flinching away.

"Honey, what is wrong?”, the older man wondered, crouching to his height.

"What do you think?", Reid exclaimed, voice breaking.

"I don't know. Spencer, love, what- I don't understand."

"If you're going to leave, would at least not play fool with me?", the genius sniffled.

"Leave? Reid, I- god, no!"

 

He realised only then that he had waited too long.

 

"Hold on. You thought- why would you?"

"Because you were weird and you looked like you were hiding something and I-"

"Wait here."

 

It was an order, and as mad as Reid was, he didn't dare move from his place until Aaron came back and set something on his knee. Spencer stared.

 

"This is what I tried to hide."

"I- you-"

 

The offensive little box was laid there, untouched and Reid didn't move to take it.

 

"A lot of things happened. I had this in mind for a while, but then I heard back about the house and I thought about changing the way I'd-"

"Did we get it?"

"What?"

"The house? Did we get it?", Spencer urged.

"Reid- Spencer, I'm kind of trying to propose, right now", Hotch frowned.

"Answer the question or I'm not going to listen."

"Yes. Yes, we got it. Will you marry me?"

"Yes. God, I thought-", Reid choked.

 

Aaron pulled him to his feet and hugged him, slipping the ring back in his pocket.

 

"We're a mess", he sighed. "But I'm never leaving, Spencer. Never."

 

Reid bursted out laughing and he kissed him, sighing, too.

 

"So... I'll have to cancel this weekend."

"What was happening?"

"I was going to tell you the realtor wanted to meet us at the house. The whole team was going to be there and there would have been a caterer, and I'd have asked you."

 

Spencer pressed their foreheads together and bit his lips.

 

"I'm sorry", he said sincerely.

"It's okay", Aaron smiled.

 

He finally put the ring on Spencer's hand and the genius couldn't stop smiling.

 

"Are we buying a dog?", he wondered.

"You have the most bizarre questions, today. I don't know. Why?"

"Because Jack's been asking. I think it would be a good time."

"Maybe. After we're settled, probably."

 

Reid buried his face into Aaron's shoulder, smiling at his own stupidity. He could breathe again until the next hurdle, until the next scare.


End file.
